Unemployment on Teesside rises for first time in ten months

In January, 16,525 people in the area claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) compared with 16,177 the previous month, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The 2.15% increase follows a fall in each of the previous nine months, with all five local authority areas seeing a rise in the number of people out of work last month.

Below the headline figures, the statistics showed some encouraging trends including a 2.3% dip in the number of people out of work for more than 12 months – classed as the long-term unemployed. Youth employment remained broadly flat, although in Redcar & Cleveland there was a small fall in the number of 18-24 year-olds out of work.